The Calling from Heaven
by Indomitable Soul
Summary: AU. Naruto has been chosen as the Warrior of Heaven to battle the Demon plane in a winner takes all scenario. Shows Naruto's growth and maturity, and hopefully beaks from the normal ideas and fics! NaruSaku later on, and expect lots of cool powers!
1. Chapter 1

AN: Hello to everyone! This is my very first fan fiction I have made, and although I've wanted to make one for a while now, I never had the inspiration to write anything. Lately, however, I have found that writing has brought a kind of peace to my hectic days and gives me time to think and allow my creative side to come out!

For any questions about the story or other constructive criticism, please contact me! I also don't care too much for flaming, but I would rather it be intellectual than just raving incessantly. Like this quote from Mark Twain "I refuse to enter a battle of wits with a man who is unarmed." You send me an intelligent flame; I will look at it and respond intelligently!

IndomitableSoul

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto or any of Kishimoto-sama's characters, except for the ones I create.

So, without further ado,

The Calling from Heaven

Chapter 1

The Awakening

Sunlight poured out of the sky onto the green grass on one of Konoha's training fields. It was a hot spring day, with a myriad of different blooming flowers and greenery. Wildlife would have been found in this area, too, were it not for a loud noise continuously scaring it away.

A young boy was training by a large tree, and after continuously failing to destroy it with a strange ball of energy, he would yell and scream at the tree for not being dead by now. Uzumaki Naruto was certainly not in the best of moods. In fact, you could say that he was downright angry, for he was tired, sweaty, and frustrated.

"Stupid thing! Stay in a ball!" He yelled at the swelling ball of chakra in his hand. Once again, for the umpteenth time that day, he threw it at the tree, in hopes of it shattering like toothpicks. And once again, he found himself cursing his ineptitude at making it work.

After several hours and several upon several times trying to make his technique work, he headed back to his house exhausted.

'Man, this new Rasengan technique just isn't working! As soon as it leaves my hand it dissipates! What do I have to do to keep it in one piece through the air?'

He sighed as he waked into his apartment. He would have usually gone over to Ichiraku's Ramen stand, but he had run out of money after his binge there the day before.

He was about to head into his room when he felt a stir in the air behind him. He turned suddenly to feel a spark of pain shoot into his head. Groaning, he got up off the floor to see an ANBU standing there with a badger mask. The ANBU chuckled to himself as he stared a Naruto.

"So, fox boy, where are your friends now?" The ANBU then let out a full laugh as he kicked Naruto in the side, causing him to grunt in pain.

'Why do I deserve this? I didn't kill their families and friends!' Naruto thought painfully. As the ANBU continued his beating, Naruto displaced his mind from his body, allowing the pain to dull itself under the constant barrage. After 10 minutes of the brutal beating, the ANBU spit on Naruto's beaten body and sneered.

"You stupid fox! I wish I could kill you right now! Were it not for the Hokage's order, I would have killed you long ago!" With these as his final words, the ANBU disappeared with a poof of smoke.

Naruto came back to full consciousness and moaned miserably. Pain was shooting through his body in ways that words would not describe. Luckily for him though, the fox's chakra began to heal his battered body from its horrendous ordeal and the pain slowly started to ebb away. After five minutes, he gradually crawled to his feet and stumbled over to his bed, to lets a peaceful sleep overtake his broken body.

As he fell asleep, a single tear rolled out of his cerulean eyes.

'Why?'

Naruto opened his eyes to find himself knelt down on the top of a mountain. He looked out over the valley below to see the incredible beauty around him. He closed his eyes and took a deep, cleansing breath as a light wind blew through his golden hair. As he was resting like this, he felt a small presence next to him. Unconcerned, he looked up slowly to find a man with long flowing brown hair and golden eyes wearing strange robes staring down at him. The man smiled and then looked out in the direction of the valley. Naruto followed his gaze and stared off into the distance.

After some time, the Naruto looked back up at the man and said, "May I ask who you are? You seem like a nice person. "The man smiled and replied. "My name is Michael, and I am a servant of my liege, Kami-sama."

Naruto nodded, as though this was a common place meeting. "My name is Naruto," he said looking into the mans golden eyes.

Michael smiled again as he looked at Naruto "Yes, Naruto, I know your name. In fact, I know all about you, from the day you were born. You could say that I was assigned to watch your life."

Naruto stared at the man questioningly. "You mean you were stalking me?"

Michael let out a roar of laughter, which even made Naruto smile sheepishly. "No, you see, I'm an angel." Naruto nodded at this then took a double take.

"What? An angel! But, I didn't even know you were real!"

The angel smiled sadly "I know; not a lot of people still believe in us and our Kami."

Michael then knelt down and looked Naruto straight in the face.

"There is a reason that you have been called here. There are things that have been put into motion must faster than Kami might have guessed, and his plans have had to be altered accordingly. These plans involve you."

Naruto stared at Michael "Huh?"

The angel let out a sigh, then replied. "Naruto, since your birth, yours has been a life marked for destiny, a path set to lead many. You have been chosen, and only you can heed the call that has been set for you."

Naruto just stared at the mad, uncomprehending. Suddenly his words dawned on min and his eyes widened.

"But-"

Michael interrupted "I'm sorry, Naruto, but we have no time. You must be taken to the realm of Heaven to be trained for the times that are coming."

"B-But what about my friends? My Team? What will happen to them?"

"You will be gone for some time, and like I said, this would not have happened if things had gone according to plan. I am truly sorry, but there is no time"

Naruto thought back to his friends, Kakashi, Sakura, Jiraiya, and Sasuke. He thought for a minute before replying.

"Ok, let's go."

Michael smiled and they both disappeared.

AN: Ok, guys and gals, what did you think so far? If your worried about various characters and events being shown, lets just say that Naruto will be back in full force to Konoha sometime later (after training in Heaven and what-not) also, this fic will have some difference in its time jumps. For instance, this is After the Chunin Exams, which is where Naruto would have learned the Rasengan. So, also, in other words, we have met Tsunade but Sasuke hasn't run off with the Sound Four yet.

In other words, expect this to be a totally different story, in some respects.

Hope you enjoyed the first Chapter!


	2. Chapter 2

AN: Reviews! It always makes me happy to hear from you guys!

Leech220: thanks for the review! Here's your update!

DemonChild656: thanks for your feedback! Your wish has been granted!

So, in this chapter, I decided to make the story change a bit. Instead of explaining Naruto's whole experience in heaven (training, new characters, etc), I am skipping it and will explain it all through flashbacks. I wanted to do this to break with the normal routine that some 'Naruto leave for a while and comes back powerful' stories tend to lead. Oh, and Naruto is different. WAY different…

Indomitable Soul

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto or any of Kishimoto-sama's characters, except for the ones I create.

The Calling from Heaven

Chapter 2

Return to Childhood

The shinobi watching over Konoha's main gate was having a very uneventful day. No people had left the village, or entered in a manner as to keep him awake. When a young man approached slowly on the path, the shinobi did not think anything of it at all. Nor after asking the young teen his business, did he recognize the boy that had been so hated by the village.

Naruto was walking up to the gate of Konoha after his long absence. He had found that he had been gone for a lot longer than he had thought, and had grown significantly, in both stature and countenance. Unless you had known him like a brother, you would not have recognized him.

He was standing at a very tall 6'2" and had long spiky yellow hair, reminiscent of the 4th Hokage's. Instead of an orange jumpsuit, he was wearing a grey cloak that covered his whole body. On the back of the cloak was a crest, much the spiral on his old outfit, but was centered on a strange looking animal called a griffon, a lion-eagle mix. Other than this, he was not wearing his forehead protector, but had a large red cloth tied around with the long ends flowing in the light breeze. His face no longer had the whisker marks, as he had 'grown' out of them, and he had a very handsome, defined face. The thing that had perhaps changed the most was his eyes. They were no longer a beautiful, deep blue but had changed into a golden, amber color, like Michaels.

The gate guard cleared his throat and said "Ahem, what is your business with Konoha?"

Naruto smiled at him and simply replied "I'm here to visit some old friends…"

The guard stared at Naruto for a moment longer and then nodded, allowing him to pass.

Naruto looked up at the Hokage monument, the first site to greet all those who walked into Konoha. He smiled as he looked over the faces, until he saw Sarutobi's visage looking out to the sky. He then got a sad, nostalgic look on his face and continued walking. As he drew near to his destination, the Hokage's office. He nearly bumped into a small figure.

Naruto immediately jumped to the side, allowing the person to rush past him without colliding. The person gave a yelp after seeing the near-miss and skidded to a stop.

Naruto saw who it was and immediately began to back away.

Haruno Sakura had been late for her mission assigned by Tsunade, and well, that wasn't a good thing. Had she remembered that she was supposed to leave at 8:00, not 9:00, she wouldn't have been nearly knocked into (or out of) a wall by Tsunade, who was having a hangover when she saw that Sakura was still in Konoha.

Suddenly deciding it was time to go do her mission, Sakura had nearly flown out of the building and would have left immediately had she not nearly bumped into someone.

Turning to apologize, she looked at the person who was now backing away from her, and blushed. '_You idiot! You nearly ran over some hot guy! Man-o-man is he FINE_!'

As she continued to blush at these thoughts, She said, "Sorry about that, I was really in a hurry and didn't look where I was going!"

Naruto nodded and answered, "No, no, that's all right. I should have been more careful going around the corner."

Naruto, as he was saying this, thought '_Wow, she doesn't even recognize me! Have I really changed so much that she doesn't remember the loud-mouthed Naruto? Of course it has been 5 years, so I guess I would have changed a bit…_'

Sakura then said, "Well, I would really love to stay and talk," '_Oh-h-h YES I would!_' "But I have to go do a mission now." Naruto nodded to her and continued his walk to wards the Hokage's office. "Very well, Sakura, I'll see you later then!"

She waved goodbye to him and continued her run before pausing with the thought, "Wait, how did he know my name?"

Naruto entered the Hokage's office to be greeted by a secretary working at her desk. He cleared his throat and waited for her to look up from her paperwork. When she did, he was asked what his business was with the Hokage.

"Tell the Hokage that an old friend of hers is here."

The secretary shook her head and replied, "I'm sorry, but the Hokage is recovering from a rather large hangover. She would probably knock you out of the room before you could even say your name!"

Naruto laughed at this and replied, "Pshaw! Don't worry about me, Tsunade wouldn't harm a hair on my head when she figures out who I am!"

The secretary seemed to think about this for a moment and let up. "Very well, go in and see her, but the office is not responsible for your injuries!"

Naruto nodded and cautiously opened the door to Tsunade's office, where he saw her sleeping on her desk, drool falling out the side of her mouth. He chuckled inwardly and carefully closed the door behind him and quietly said "Ok, Tsunade, its time to wake up! Rise and shine!"

Tsunade grumbled and slowly looked up, eyes full of pain and anger. "Who the heck are you and what are you doing in here?" Naruto sighed and said, "So, not even you recognize me…Man, I guess I have changed a lot!"

Hearing this, Tsunade looked carefully at her unwanted visitor, recognition slowly coming to her.

"Your right, you do look familiar…I didn't meet you at the bar last night did I?"

Naruto chuckled. "Nope, not there."

Tsunade frowned and said, "Look, I don't have the time for games! I have a bad hangover, and I really don't feel like entertaining strangers…Tell me who you are and what you want, then leave me alone!" Naruto sighed and pulled a necklace out from under his cloak, and threw it at Tsunade. She caught it, grumbling, and looked at it.

Immediately she gasped and said "N-Naruto?"

Naruto smiled and looked at the necklace, "Took you long enough!"

She jumped out of her chair, hangover forgotten, and gave Naruto a crushing hug. "You idiot! Where the heck have you been? Why the heck are your eyes golden? We've all missed you so much!"

Naruto laughed and returned the hug "I missed you to, baa-chan!"

She stepped back and looked at him. "Kami, I didn't even recognize you! You've grown up into quite the hottie!"

Naruto sweat-dropped. "Uhh, thanks! You look just the same as ever!"

Tsunade laughed and then turned to a more serious tone. "So, where have you been? It has been five years now since you disappeared."

Naruto stared out of Tsunade's window and paused before answering. "I'm sorry, baa-chan, but I can't tell you…at least for now." Tsunade was about to question him further, but saw that he didn't want to talk about it. She decided to wait for him to tell her, and not force the issue.

She nodded. "Very well, but you will have to tell me sooner or later." Naruto nodded and gave an uncharacteristic bow. Tsunade's eyebrow rose at this but she continued with what she was going to say.

"Alright, since your back, I suppose you'll need the keys to your apartment. Don't worry; everything has been cleaned monthly since you left, so it shouldn't be in too bad of a condition." She handed him the keys. "Also, you may want to go around and see if you can meet up with some of your old friends. I'm afraid that Jiraiya is out on a mission, but should be back in a few days, if he doesn't stop to go peeping on the bathhouses…"

Naruto laughed. "Hah! That old pervert still up to his disgusting ways?" Tsunade grumbled something like, '_…these days…kill that…humph!_' as Naruto was walking out. He chuckled at this and left the room.

Naruto got to the apartment and dropped his duffel bag on the ground, and looked around. Tsunade was right; everything had been cleaned pretty regularly in the small place.

He sighed and looked out the window at the sky. The sun was starting to set, so he decided that it was time for dinner. As the though of food came to mind, he remembered one of the other places he had been longing to go to all day: Ichiraku's.

He locked up the apartment and headed to the ramen stand. As he was approaching, he noticed a man sitting at one of the stools eating a miso ramen. When he noticed the scar running along the mans nose out onto each cheek, he immediately recognized him as Iruka. He smiled to himself and sat down a seat away from his old academy sensei, not alluding to the fact that it was him. He had begun to have fun letting people take their time figuring out who it was.

When the ramen man approached him asking for his order, Naruto replied with "Hmmm…lemme see…how about 3 beef ramens and 2 miso? Uhh, to start?" The man, slightly surprised at the quantity, nodded and began his cooking. Iruka, after hearing this, peered at the blonde curiously. After a moment or two, he returned to his miso.

Naruto was now receiving his bowls and devoured them like a starved man.

"Man, it's been too long since I've had Ichiraku's ramen!" Iruka then decided that there was something unnervingly familiar about this young guy, but he still couldn't put his finger on it…

After watching him demolish 5 more bowls, it finally dawned on him.

"…Naruto?"

Naruto looked up from his ramen with a grin on his face. "Sheez, sure does take you guys long enough to figure it out!"

Iruka immediately let out a heartfelt laugh of joy and gave Naruto a slap on the back. "Man, I barely even recognized you! Why are your eyes golden? And where have you been?"

Naruto replied as he had with Tsunade, saying that he would reveal all in due time.

Iruka seemed happy with this reply and said, "Well, then you can tell me later! Old man! Another round of ramen for your favorite customer! My treat!"

Ichiraku, realizing that his best customer had once again appeared, gave a cry of joy. "Forget it! His entire meal is on the house!"

Naruto then gave HIS cry of joy, knowing that he know had a free ticket to all the ramen he wanted that night, which in turn made both Iruka and Ichiraku sweat-drop.

Sakura had finished her mission, a reconnaissance mission collecting information from a fellow shinobi, and was returning the debriefing form to Tsunade when the memory of the outrageously cute guy from earlier popped up.

She looked at Tsunade, who was still overlooking the debriefing form. "Tsunade?"

Tsunade looked up from the form. "What is it, Sakura? I'm trying to finish reading this form!" "Um, I had a question for you…you see, I saw this guy earlier, and he knew my name without my even telling him. Do you think he's stalking me?" Tsunade narrowed her eyes, until she thought of a certain blonde who had just returned. "Was the guy blonde? With golden eyes?" Sakura looked at Tsunade questioningly. "Yes, that's him! How did you know who it was? And who exactly is this guy?"

Tsunade sighed. "I was hoping he would have a chance to talk to you himself, but it seems you won't be off my back until I tell you…"

Sakura grew impatient. "Who is it, Tsunade? Tell me!"

"Naruto has come back."

Sakura stared at Tsunade for a few seconds before responding. "But…I thought he was dead…" "So did I. After he disappeared, with Sasuke leaving in his wake, many people thought he had been kidnapped by Orochimaru. (Not to mention the fact they had seemed happy about it…) After all, there had been signs of a fight inside the house the night of his disappearance."

Sakura was still in shock. "But…he's here?" "Of course, you said you bumped into him earlier."

Sakura then snapped into a frantic mode. "Where is he staying? Tell me Tsunade!"

Tsunade calmly stared at her excited student. "He is probably at his old apartment by now; I'm not really sure."

Sakura flew out the door, once again dashing out of the Hokage's office and nearly running over a few people in her run to Naruto's apartment.

Naruto had returned from his wondrous eating frenzy at Ichiraku's, and was now preparing for bed. He had dumped his few belongings onto the bed, and was currently sorting it all and putting his clothes into the drawer of a chest at the foot of the bed. He had also gone shopping on the way back from the ramen stand, and placed the various goods into the refrigerator and cupboards.

He was about to take a cold shower when he heard a knock on the door. He looked up, surprised that anyone would come at this time of night. Heck, he didn't even think that anyone besides Tsunade, Iruka and Ichiraku had known that he had reappeared.

He opened the door, with a greeting of "Hello, may I ask-"

He stared at Sakura, who was standing in his doorway, tears in her eyes and a questioning look on her face.

"Naruto?"

AN: Wow, I wrote this chapter in like one day! Hopefully later on I will have such urges and update as fast! Thanks to those who reviewed, and sent me an email! I hope that you enjoyed this chapter!

Ok, next chapter will be some more of the reuniting between the rookie nine and various other characters. Also, we will begin to see flashbacks of Naruto and his time in Heaven

Alright ladies and gents! See you next chapter!


	3. Chapter 3

A/N : Due to a situation with parents, I haven't been near a computer for a while…but I am back and hopefully writing a chapter every few days or so…if not, it will be around a week…no promises however! I live a life besides this story (although I may wish otherwise)! So here you go, the next chapter in …The Calling from Heaven!

Reviews!

Irvin lizalde: Thanks for the praise! And yes, Naru/Saku is the plan )

winxclubluver: well thank you! Sorry for the long wait!

MindlessManiac: Wow, reviews like yours make me keep writing! Thanks!

angel61991: Sasuke won't be showing up for a little while…but soon!

Kris: Well, I'm glad that you find the plot original! That's my aim! Heh, yes it is funny how it takes them a while! And cookies are always accepted!

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto…go bug someone else!

The Calling from Heaven

By Indomitable Soul

Remembrance

Chapter 3

"_Naruto?"_

Naruto stood in the doorway and stared at Sakura. Naruto thought back to the many times in his youth that he had asked her to go out with him many times. These memories were hard to conjure, for it had been a long time for Naruto. He had seen many more years in Heaven than those he had missed in this realm of existence, because Heaven was timeless. Five years here was an eon spent away. It was as a distant dream to him, not fully real but at the same time incredibly so. Now, being back, he had those memories return to him in rushes. He had always admired Sakura. He remembered back to times when she had pounded him, to his cheering her on at the Chunin exams…

Sakura, on the other hand, vividly remembered the times with Team 7, and the experiences they had shared, from meeting at the Academy, to their mission to Wave Country. Memories experienced of the Chunin exams, and the departure of Sasuke.

Neither of them moved for a few moments until Naruto slowly said "Hello Sakura."

Sakura started crying and jumped on him.

"You Idiot! Where have you been? We've all missed you so much, you have no idea!"

Naruto smiled slightly and released himself from Sakura's hug. It was then that he thought back to the years he had spent in Heaven, training for the bloodshed to come…

_Naruto had only just decided to go with Michael, when he felt a tug on his very soul towards the sky. He looked up and saw what he could only describe as whirlpool of light, which was sucking him in. At first he felt fear, but this was quelled when he heard a soft, yet powerful voice speaking to him._

"_Do not be afraid…"_

_Naruto was pulled into the light and a sudden feeling of excitement and joy entered every fiber of his being. Words cannot describe the things that Naruto saw in that whirlpool, but for a moment, he had become a part of time it's self, and had seen the beginning of time, and its end. He had seen a myriad of people's lives, great and small pass him by, and yet left him looking backwards at them. This sudden overwhelming sense of the miniscule nature that we all live, oblivious in our own happy world, gave him a gut-wrenching thought that he was no bigger than an ant, and his life had no sway whatsoever in the realm of all existence. _

_Then, as soon as it had started, it was all over. He felt that overwhelming thought leave his mind, as a new sense of awe filled his heart. _

_He was literally standing in a field of light, and surrounding him was grass, not green, but a strangely golden hue that glowed in its own light. As he looked the up to the sky, he saw not an endless blue, but the universe it's self, with whole galaxies in front of him. He felt himself reach out to touch them, but felt only the glowing warmth of the air. At this, he noticed that the air was different as well, not stale, as he had been accustomed to in his apartment, but strangely pure and sweet. He drew in a breath and found himself letting it out with a large smile. _

"_You are called…"_

_Naruto turned his head around to see a Man standing in the distance, beckoning Naruto towards Him. He couldn't tell who it was, for He was hidden in a silhouette. Naruto ran towards Him, and felt himself literally fly over the golden field. He felt a sudden joy in this, for he had not felt this free in his entire life. As he approached the Man, an unexpected flash of light blinded him and he threw out a cry of pain. As this happened, a heard a voice in his head speaking to him._

"_Do not worry. If you were to look upon My face with those eyes, you would die. I am merely changing them so that you may…"_

_Naruto felt his eyesight returning, only to find that he was seeing now what others could only dream of. No longer was his eyesight limited to the visible spectrum, but could now also see wavelengths and heat. Also, he found, that they were now literal portals into the past, present, and future. As he slow realized the awesome power of this, he looked up at the Man. _

_What he saw, no mortal eyes could stand to see, and Naruto now knew why. There are no words to describe him that we can really say, but to the limit we have he was magnificent, awe-inspiring, kind, beautiful and awesome to behold. Naruto knew that he would never meet or encounter anyone like this for the rest of his life. He didn't know what to say to the Man, or what he should do, but he felt himself falling to his knees. The man walked over to Naruto and pulled him to his feet._

"_You don't need to say anything. I understand what you want, what you need, your desires and dislikes, those you love and those you…hate. I know all about you, Uzumaki Naruto, and I can see what you will become as well."_

_Naruto looked up, tears in his eyes, and simply said "Kami-sama."_

Naruto looked back at Sakura, who was still crying and said "Well, Sakura, I've been…around."

She frowned through the tears, but it quickly turned into a smile. "Well, I'm sure that you will tell me when you're ready. But what have you been doing all this time?"

Naruto smiled and said simply, "Training."

Sakura fought hard not to yell at Naruto. "Training? Why, you could do that right here! There was no need for you to leave-"

Naruto put a finger to her mouth and said "There was. I will tell all of you about it, but there is a time appointed for it, and that is not now. There is still time until…I must reveal all…"

After saying this, Naruto slowly walked back into the house beckoning Sakura in.

"I'm going to change, so if you would wait here, please…"

She entered the apartment, slightly shocked by the calm and graceful movements that he walked around with. It was as if…no, that couldn't be! Floating…heh! Sakura chuckled inwardly at this, but her amusement slowly turned to awe as she heard Naruto say from the next room, "What's so funny?

"Uhh…Nothing! W-why do you ask?"

Naruto walked out, now wearing a simple red shirt and baggy sweatpants with the symbol 'Heaven' on the right legging.

"Well, I felt you chuckle, and was just wondering why you had. That's all."

Sakura gulped slightly. "Oh…ok…"

Naruto walked out the front door, and Sakura followed him. They walked through the streets of Konoha without saying a word, Naruto staring up into the sky, occasionally closing in his eyes and taking a deep, thoughtful breath. Sakura on the other hand was completely at a loss for words! The old Naruto would have been an energetic loud-mouth at times like this, and now he had absolutely nothing to say! She was strangely happy about this, though a part of her missed the old, happy-go-lucky Naruto that had a grin all of the time. Soon, they reached the Training ground Naruto had been before his departure. Sakura was dying to ask what he had been doing, but decided that forcing the issue would make it harder for him to open up about it.

Naruto stopped in front of a tree with deep, circular marks running through it and smiled. "Rasengan…" He said softly. Sakura heard this and smiled. Naruto turned around and stared back at the Hokage's faces on the cliff side. "It's been a long time since I've used that technique…and many others." Sakura stared at him. Hadn't the Rasengan been one, if not his favorite technique besides Kage Bunshin? He smiled softly and replied as if hearing your thoughts. "Where I have been, it was not needed. Actually, I had forgotten about most of my techniques until I had returned." Sakura decided that waiting to ask again would kill her. "Just where have you been? How could the Rasengan not be needed? Naruto, you have to tell me!"

Naruto turned and started walking back to his apartment. "I'm sorry Sakura, but I cannot tell you. Its not that I don't want to, I just can't. Please don't ask again. You will know when the time is right, as will everyone else." Naruto continued back home, leaving Sakura at the tree, with many unresolved questions…questions that had multiplied at his statement. She decided that continuing to pester him would go nowhere, so she decided to go to the only person who she thought could find out.

Naruto got back to his apartment and sighed. He really did want to tell everyone about his experiences in Heaven, but he knew that to tell them this early before the war would only endanger them, and possibly jumpstart a battle that shouldn't come for some time.

He went over to his bed and sat cross-legged while closing his eyes. Suddenly, he felt a familiar presence in the room. Without opening his eyes, he nodded once at the direction of the presence. "Michael," he said opening his eyes. He knew that Michael would not be there in a physical sense, but his spirit was in the room.

_Hello Naruto._

Naruto looked in the direction of the aura. "Please give my thanks and gratitude to Kami for the smooth arrival."

_No need. He hears what you say right now…as always._

Naruto smiled. "Of course." He felt the presence then move towards the door, as if leaving, but it turned and said,

_Although I am sure you already know this, but you have a year before the dark portal opens. I pray that you have a safe and peaceful time until it begins._

Naruto nodded "All of it is in Kami's hands." Naruto felt Michael's presence leave the room and he lied down on his bed, hoping that the next year would indeed be filled with peace.

And he fell asleep.

Naruto woke the next morning to rays of light in his face. He sat there staring at the window, gleaning the warmth of the suns rays before starting his day. He soon got up and took a warm and soothing shower. His mind was still partly troubled; he had many friends and acquaintances with whom he had yet to see again and he was slightly worried as to what their reactions would be. He hoped that they were like the last days meetings.

After getting dressed in a simple pair of jeans and a tight tee-shirt, he brushed his teeth and hair, and stepped outside. It was a beautiful day in Konoha, and promised to be an extremely warm spring day. After taking a quick jog (which to most people just seemed to be a very strong breeze going past), he decided on going to the Hokage's office to get either a job to occupy his days or at least take about what he had missed.

He walked his way up the street towards the tower, but was stopped by the sight of two masked men fleeing from a local grocer. Naruto quickly surmised the situation and stepped in the way of the two robbers, who skidded to a stop.

The first robber snarled "Get out of our way, punk, or we'll blast you to high heaven!"

Naruto chuckled at this. "Sorry, I've already been there."

The robber spat and nodded at the other one. "Trash him!"

Naruto watched as the thief ran down a side alley, while the other one pulled out a gun and shot at Naruto.

Time paused as Naruto used his eyes to slow down time, watching the bullet sluggishly make its way towards him. He regarded it with apathy as he plucked it right out of the air and returned time to its normal pace.

The robber gasped visibly at the man in front of him holding the bullet he had just shot at him like it was no big deal. He turned to run but felt himself slip into a deep sleep when a voice entered his head.

'_Time to sleep for a while…_'

Naruto watched as he fell over and felt for the other robber's spirit energy…there it was. He stopped time completely and ran over to where he felt the energy coming from. After jumping several buildings and traversing sever roads, he came across a frozen man, running in the direction of Konoha's gate. He slowly put his arm out in front of the man and returned to normal time.

The man ran right into Naruto's arm, and as with any clothesline, he went unconsciously flying into the air. Naruto deftly caught the man in one arm, and calmly walked back to the grocery store.

As Naruto approached the grocer, he saw that the other robber had already been apprehended by the local Leaf-nins. As they saw him approaching them, the grocer stated, "Yes, that's him! He stopped the robbers!" Naruto calmly put down the robber and he was quickly handcuffed by the nins and hauled off. Most of the people who had seen the whole incident were staring at Naruto with something of awe in their eyes. He was thanked by the grocer and before walking away, the Leader of the nins approached him. Naruto, being no fool, quickly recognized the grotesque green spandex body suit and large eyebrows. Naruto had no trouble guessing that this nin was none other than Rock Lee.

"Very well handled, as the reports state! You have mine and everyone's thanks!" Lee flashed his good-guy pose, which had Naruto chuckling to himself.

"It was no trouble, and there was no damage inflicted."

Lee looked questioningly at Naruto. "I heard that a gun was used! You are not harmed?"

Naruto quickly replied "Uh, no! No, I'm fine! He, uh, missed! Yeah!"

Lee looked as though he didn't believe Naruto, then suddenly sent up a loud yell.

"Your luck is proof of the power of Youthfulness! Yosh!" Naruto sweat dropped, and suddenly Lee got a curious look on his face.

Lee asked questioningly, "Do I know you? You seem very familiar…perhaps from the academy, or something?"

Naruto smiled. "Yes, you do know me, although it has been a very long time since I have been back to Konoha." Lee pondered this and immediately came up with…

"NARUTO! AS I SAID, THE POWER OF YOUTH SHINES ON!"

Lee grabbed Naruto into one of his Gai-like hugs which would normally break a person in two, but Naruto didn't even flinch, except for the fact that it was uncomfortable to be hugging Lee.

"Uh, thanks Lee. I appreciate your welcome, but I did need to go to see the Hokage before this whole incident happened."

Lee stepped back and flashed Naruto a toothy grin. "Very well, my friend! I must not make you late to see the Hokage! But know this! One of these days I want to test out how strong you have become on your travels!"

With this, Lee and the rest of his 'task force' continued on their patrols shouting something like, 'Youth will prevail!' and the robbers were taken to jail. Naruto smiled to himself and continued to the Hokage's office.

Naruto continued into the Hokage's office and walked in, despite repeated warnings by Tsunade's secretary not to enter. He opened the door to feel a vase smash against his forehead.

"That's what you get for not…knocking…"

Tsunade now not only realized that it was Naruto, but saw that the vase had done absolutely nothing to him. The broken fragments lay on the ground, but no damage appeared on Naruto's head. Shaking the feeling off, she nodded to Naruto.

"Well, what are you doing here, Naruto?"

Naruto, who seemingly hadn't even noticed the vase, gave a little laugh, then coughed.

"Um, well, you see, I was wondering if there were any jobs or missions that I could start doing to occupy my time…"

Tsunade stared at Naruto and replied, "Sorry Naruto. Without a team, you aren't allowed to do missions. You have to be a Chunin to do those, and your technically still a Genin."

Naruto was about to protest, when Tsunade continued.

"Lucky for you, however, the Chunin exams are starting again in a few weeks. The only thing that may hamper your doing the exam is the fact that you need to be on a team of three to complete the tests. Unless…"

Naruto had been down at hearing his inability to do stuff, but heard her coming rebuttal, and perked up again.

"The only way to give you missions would be to have you skip Chunin completely and become a special Jounin…but before you get too excited, you will have to be tested to see if you are battle worth enough to become one."

Naruto was happy at this chance, but thought that the testing would be bothersome. He knew that he could literally take out Tsunade without flinching, and that he was probably the strongest being in this existence, until the gates opened in a year. Yet this fact didn't seem to faze Naruto, and he showed his excitement to return to missions.

"Sounds great Tsunade! When will I be tested?"

Tsunade called in her secretary. "When is there time to test this young man out for special Jounin?"

The secretary looked at her schedule. "Hmm, it seems that you are testing someone else this afternoon, actually. Inzuka Kiba."

Tsunade nodded and told Naruto that He would be tested with Kiba. Naruto heard this and smiled. He wondered how his meeting Kiba again would go…?

A/N Once again, I want to apologize for the long wait for this chapter. Hopefully you enjoyed it! Next time we will start the Special Jounin test for our hero!

Some of you may feel that Naruto is overpowered…and that's the way it's supposed to be. He wasn't trained in Heaven to face a couple wimpy demons…he's going to be fighting hoards of them…not to mention a certain demon lord you all know and love (?)

Until then, this is Indomitable Soul signing out!


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